Girls Basketball: Upper Dublin fends off Lansdale Catholic

LANSDALE — Upper Dublin only needed the first two quarters to beat Lansdale Catholic, but that’s not a great habit to get into even if the result is a win.

The Cardinals scored 38 points in the first half, including 24 in the second quarter, to propel them to a 57-40 victory over LC. Although Upper Dublin hit seven three-pointers in the game and shot the Crusaders out of the gym in the first 16 minutes, the second half belonged to the Lansdale.

“I thought we played a great first half,” Upper Dublin coach Morgan Funsten said. “We came out in the first quarter and executed everything we wanted to do. We let up a bit at the end of the first, but then we had a great second quarter, probably our best all year.”

Upper Dublin’s Regan Gallagher dropped 14 of her 19 points in the first half, leading the Cardinals offensive charge. Gallagher, Brianna Spector and Lauren Rothfeld hit two three-balls each in the first two quarters, culminating in a 24-8 second quarter. While the offense thrived in the first half, the defense also held strong, allowing LC to score only single digits in each of the first two quarters.

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“You can definitely see the strengths of our team in the first half,” Funsten said. “I saw a lot of things that I liked.”

It was a struggle for LC, to say the least.

“Upper Dublin came out strong,” Lansdale coach Heather Glemser said. “We weren’t talking, just basic things like they were beating us on the back screen. We have to do a better job in the help there. There’s no reason that should happen.”

The second half was the exact opposite.

Apparently just fine with a big lead, Upper Dublin let LC back in the game. Led by Mary Kate Brokans’ 15 points, the Crusaders made a game of it, outscoring the Cardinals in the third and fourth quarters. The fourth quarter was their best, scoring 16 points, including six from Brokans and five from Amanda Bradley. LC showed fight that their coach was very proud of.

“I thought we came back out in the second half and actually played, so that was good,” Glemser said. “It’s huge for our confidence. We still haven’t found that consistent scorer yet, but we have a lot of girls who can score. Other people have to step up.”

At the end, however, a 24-5 quarter was too much to overcome and Upper Dublin prevailed. It showed the fight of LC and it was a good lesson to the Cardinals that complacency will not win games down the stretch despite getting this W. One thing is for sure, though: Upper Dublin can ball and I would be nervous of they were on my team’s schedule.

“The good news is, you don’t get too full of yourself when you have a second half like that,” Funsten said. “One of our strengths is that we have five girls who can make a three, but we have nice balance. They aren’t satisfied, they know they can play much better than they did in the second half. We are going to go to work and make sure it gets fixed.”